East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA)

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The East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a member of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference, is located in Lancaster. The first meetinghouse was built on this site in 1879, services having previously been held in a rented building on Charlotte Street. This meetinghouse was replaced in 1906 by a larger brick church. The trustees of the first meetinghouse, members of adjoining country churches, took their turns in caring for the afternoon services. A Sunday school was opened in 1894 with Benjamin F. Herr and David Lantz as superintendents. On 11 December 1904, John H. Mosemann was ordained to the ministry, and in 1926 to the office of bishop. On 30 June 1907, David H. Mosemann was ordained to the ministry. For years the church was a young people's center every second Sunday night. Numerous all-day meetings were also held here. The ministers in 1955 were Noah G. Good, Jacob E. Brubaker, and Mylin Shenk. Services were held twice each Sunday, with a Sunday school, a summer Bible school, and a weekday Bible school each fall.

The congregation has been directly or indirectly the mother of a number of mission congregations in and near the city of Lancaster, among them being Vine Street, North End, Rossmere, South Christian Street, Laurel and Freemont Streets, Lyndon. It has also suffered many losses by withdrawals. A considerable number of the Calvary Bible Church (independent) came from East Chestnut Street, while a block of members leaving in 1952 organized the Neffsville Mennonite Church under the Ohio and Eastern Conference. Earlier a number had left to share in the organization of the Monterey Mennonite Church under the same conference, near Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. As a result of these vicissitudes, the congregation has declined severely in membership (1955, 200).